Rating: 
Summary: Got Melanin?
Review: A Quote from West Ford "Tell your children, tell them about the Old General. But don't tell nobody else' cause white folks won't accept it."My initial thoughts on this book were "why did I volunteer to review this," I wasn't partial to history, could barely keep up in school. I progressed to the foreword and realized this might be interesting. After completing the foreword, I noticed there were portraits of George Washington at age 25, West Ford age 21 and his mother Venus Ford. I was totally intrigued. The resemblance West Ford had to George Washington his father, was uncanny. I am sure the question at the forefront of your mind is how? So let me start there. Venus Ford was a mulatto slave for Massa John Washington, Master George's brother. Massa Johns' son Augustine was killed in a gun accident. The Washington family was grieving over the lost of Young Augustine, Master George's nephew. At the request of Massa John, Venus was asked to comfort the Old General. Venus understood comfort to mean lighting a fire and warming some bricks for his bed. Massa Johns' next words startled Venus, "Ah...Master George needs warming of another kind." After that one night whenever he visited Bushfield or when Venus went with her Mistress to Mount Vernon, Venus became his sex slave. What was so different about this story from all the other influential white men who bedded mulatto slaves and wives of sharecroppers? Nothing. What's interesting is how the Fords kept their family secret legacy alive. The prologue opens with Elise Ford Allen, facing her 79th birthday and choosing the "special ones" who would continue the legacy of the family. Each generation had a chronicler, who would continue the legacy. How neat is that. I for one am happy they did this, imagine not ever knowing West Ford's story. This book is for everyone, young or old. History tells us that our first president and first lady birthed no children together. George Washington's first born was born of a slave not of Martha's womb. This was a different read for me. The author Linda Allen Bryant found a way to write about history and made it entertaining. At times I forgot this was a story of West Ford, George Washington's first born. Reviewed by Missy
Rating: 
Summary: A Broader Outlook
Review: After reading this book, I finally understand the legacy of slavery left on the African American race. America is a diverse populace and it is about time everyone was included in the making of its history. This book was so appealing to my emotions - I cried and I laughed and I couldn't put it down! Truly this is one spectaluar piece of literary prose.
Rating:
Summary: Linda chopped down George Washington's Family Tree
Review: George Washington, may not have chopped down the Cherry Tree but,Linda Allen Bryant, had enough branches to build a tree of his African-American Descendants. A lot of time had to be spent for Linda to take us back to the 1700's when George fathered a son,West Ford, by a slave named Venus. She weaves the story through each generation to bring us up to the present ending with her own family. This is a wonderful, informative, educational book and a very interesting read.
Rating:
Summary: Provocative, compelling chronicle
Review: I thought I knew my American history, but I was astounded by what I learned from this book that teaches, but reads like a novel. Ms Bryant has done some fascinating work researching her family's journey from the Bushfield plantation of 1785 through the Civil War and race riots in Chicago in 1919. You'll find much of this is mysteriously missing from our current high school history curriculum. Woven throughout the book is the thread of this family's strength fueled by their courage and commitment to place "family" above all else. Although sure to stir some controversy, this story needed to be told.
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Summary: What An Amazing Story!!!!
Review: I was skeptical at first when I bought this book. I thought "here we go again" with another story about our forefather's flaws, but the writer handled the book with sensitivity. Her family's story is one that should be told and is truly believable. Why this story has been hidden for so long is truly a blot on American history. The book is interesting -especially to those who want a deep and meaningful read.
Rating:
Summary: The Book Made A Believer Out of Me
Review: The author takes you on a trip through history in a way you've never imagined - opening new doors with new interpretations and making the reader speculate as to the paternity of a mulatto man named West Ford. Was this man the son of George Washington? After reading this fascinating book I can say, YES HE WAS!
I Cannot Tell a Lie is a deeply affecting story and I found myself moved by the plight of this courageous family as they struggled through two centuries to maintain their secret legacy throughout American history's most insensitive times.
The characters are vivid and their story will haunt you for weeks after you've turned the last page. I can't wait for a movie to be made.
Rating:
Summary: American History 101
Review: The book is a great read, and contains documented evidence of the very strong connection of the Fords to the Washington family. I don't think you will find ANY slaveowners leaving a former slave 160 acres of land in a will without a family connection. That fact alone is proof to me of the relationship. Of course, it is easy to blame it on the ubiquitous "nephew," as happened with the Thomas Jefferson-Sally Hemings case. Truth be known, there is unlikely to be a single Virginia founding-father-type, "aristocratic" slave-owning family without its black offshoot. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, and these folks had total and complete power over their slaves, and nature was bound to take its course. I know of other stories such as this, and have a few in my family that will probably never be told, at least not by me. In my spouse's family, it was the ninth governor of Alabama. What a country this is! If we can ever come to tell the truth about beginnings, maybe we can commence to really move forward toward building the kind of nation that we claim we are.
Rating:
Summary: History's Hidden Chapter
Review: Though touted as a "novel," the back matter of this book demonstrates that this author did some serious research in putting together "I Cannot Tell a Lie." This extensive saga gives the reader a wrenching, personal tour through the victories and heartaches of one family - who spent 200 years in the shadow of a secret that can - and will - change the way the world views American history. There is much to be learned from this fascinating book, aside from the astonishing revelation that the blood of our first national hero lives on in an African American family. The book gives us a whole new set of heros - in the form of courageous, lively people of color, and of mixed race - who have been omitted from our texts. This is a generous gift to America and the author is to be applauded. Read this book if you're ready to hear the truth about what America is, and should be, all about.
Rating:
Summary: History's Hidden Chapter
Review: Though touted as a "novel," the back matter of this book demonstrates that this author did some serious research in putting together "I Cannot Tell a Lie." This extensive saga gives the reader a wrenching, personal tour through the victories and heartaches of one family - who spent 200 years in the shadow of a secret that can - and will - change the way the world views American history. There is much to be learned from this fascinating book, aside from the astonishing revelation that the blood of our first national hero lives on in an African American family. The book gives us a whole new set of heros - in the form of courageous, lively people of color, and of mixed race - who have been omitted from our texts. This is a generous gift to America and the author is to be applauded. Read this book if you're ready to hear the truth about what America is, and should be, all about.
Rating:
Summary: Why Don't We Know This?
Review: Why has this story not been told more in the public eye? It's 2003 and still we hide behind the issue of "color". Congratulations to the Ford family and their claim to the Washington Legacy.
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